


The Great Detective

by Alannada



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Adventure, F/M, Gen, Humor, Not Beta Read, Romance, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-15
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-02-15 06:51:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13025574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alannada/pseuds/Alannada
Summary: He has smarts. He has good looks. He has personal charm and knows his way with people. He has a goal - to save a girl of his dreams from clutches of a delinquent and violent individual. Brace yourselves because here he comes!=





	1. Alley Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> I won't lie to you - the first chapter is just reposted from Barks chapter 57, so if you read Hojo's Encounter you can skip it and move to the second chapter (that's why I posted two chaps together). But feel free to comment on the first one too! You can suggest me ideas for the best title for this story or stuff.

Hojo was on a mission. He had all he needed - a bunch of pretty flowers Higurashi shouldn't be allergic too, a bag full of alt meds and a box of gluten-free cookies. All he needed to do now was to cross a few streets and climb the shrine steps. He smiled - soon he would see his innocent, gentle angel. She was so rarely at school lately, it was hard to catch her and just talk, so he decided to pay her a visit and

He entered an alley - it was just a pathway between two tall buildings, a short way no one usually used. Hojo walked beside a few old boxes and piles of rubbish before he saw Higurashi.

She was approaching him fast - her hair waving as she was moving, a determined look on her face. Her school uniform was torn and her scarf was missing. And she was ridding on the back of a guy Hojo vaguely remembered - after a second he realized where he had seen those red robes, obviously dyed white hair and obviously fake dog ears. It was the same boy who had taken Higurashi to visit her aunt some time ago.

A cloud of smoke was quickly following the running pair. Hojo opened his mouth to greet his beloved angel when he saw her notch an arrow on a bow she held. When she did the boy carrying her abruptly turned on his heels so she could send her arrow flying straight in the cloud of smoke. Something shrieked in the cloud, Hojo could almost see shapes moving inside it. Something hit the wall of the building to the right hard enough to make some loose pebbles fall. The cloud pulsed and darkened, but was still moving forward.

"Fuck it!" the red-clad boy cursed and let the girl slide off his back to stand behind him. He unsheathed the sword he had at his side and the school boy could see an old looking katana transform in a flash of light in a huge blade which belonged more to video games than real world.

"Inuyasha, you can't-!" Higurashi screamed, but it was too late. The cloud was almost reaching them.

"Wind Scar!" roared the white-haired boy as he slammed the sword to the ground.

The alley exploded.

Hojo sat up from the ground where he fell when the concrete under his feet shook and cracked. A pile of fallen boxes and cans was around him, shielding him from view. He brushed some of the rubbish off his clothes before some movement caught his attention. Higurashi was kneeling up from the spot where she had been curled in a ball, the boy leaning over her to protect her from the falling debris. The boy shook himself like a wet dog, sending all the dust from his hair and clothes to fly up in a cloud around him. Then he looked at the other end of the alley - long, deep cracks in the ground, walls missing big chunks of them and sporting deep cracks, rubbish covering the whole area. Somewhere in the distance someone was screaming and there was the sound of police sirens approaching fast. The alley was eerily quiet.

"INUYASHA!" Higurashi exclaimed when she finally stood beside the boy and looked at the destruction. She grabbed a forelock and tugged hard.

"Ow! Watch the hair, wench!" the boy growled, the fake dog ears somehow moving to lay against his head.

"Look what you did!"

"Yeah, I see," he smirked smugly, apparently proud of himself. "I did better job than this poorly aimed arrow. What was that, wench? You're better than that!"

"I would hit the mark if you were steadier!" she growled at him and looked at the piles of debris before them. She walked to one and dug out a piece of something shining pink. She put it in a bottle hanging around her neck and smiled when she returned to the boy. "Okay, let's go before someone sees us."

"Feh, I'd beat him senseless if he tried to say anything," the boy grinned, but sheathed his sword and knelt down so Higurashi could climb on his back. Hojo caught a fangy grin on his face when he glanced Hojo's way. He put a finger across his mouth and Hojo saw he had unnaturally long fingernails. "Besides no one would believe him."

"Stop bragging," Higurashi gripped her bow when the boy chuckled and... Hojo's eyes followed the pair as the boy jumped up, easily reaching the top of the shorter building three floors above the ground.

When the police came and asked Hojo what happened the boy merely uttered a few words.

"It exploded... It exploded very bad..."

While he was sitting in an ambulance headed to a hospital to get a check up he was thinking that he really had to ask Higurashi why she was hanging around this red-clad boy - he definitely was a violent, rash boy and didn't treat her like a gentleman. No gentleman would carry a girl - a very sick girl - on his back and shout at her or call her wench. Maybe he was a gang member? Gang members were the worst! Hojo decided he had to investigate it - he couldn't let his angel to stay in hands of a pure demon like a gang member.


	2. Roof Encounter

Hojo looked longingly at a seat to his right. It was empty, so painfully empty. The student who should sit there was missing. He had not seen her since the day when he had seen her with the gang boy in that dark alley. Oh, how he missed the bright smile of hers, her dark eyes full of kindness and inner light, her soft voice. She was a lady - a real delicate flower. She deserved the best in life, nothing less. 

Hojo sighed and looked back at the teacher. Then his gaze turned to Ayumi, who was sitting next to him, a book half-hidden under her notebook and a blush on her face when she was reading behind backs of other students. She noticed his gaze and winked.

After the first period Higurashi ran into the school, panting and apologizing. She couldn't quite hide a big grin appearing on her lips every time she was looking out the window to an old oak in the school yard, but no one asked her about that behavior. Hojo was just glad to see her feeling better. She was practically radiating energy and even during match her eyes were sparkling when she looked around the classroom and out to the oak. "Maybe it's her lingering dendrophilia?' Hojo wondered idly. He left this thought when she smiled at him and the rest of her friends.

She was probably as happy to see him as he was to see her.

He was about to approach her during the lunch break, but to his surprise she dodged him, their friends and everyone else to practcally run out of the room. Blinking in surprise he followed the girl of his dreams to the roof of the school.

"Oi!" he heard when he exited the door to the roof. He froze and then carefully peeked from behind the corner of the staircase building to a big open area of the roof where people could come and rest while watching the landscape or the yard below. The roof was usually empty because majority of the students wanted rather to eat inside during such a chilly day. He saw Kagome and the gang boy sitting beside each other (way too close to each other in Hojo's opinion), their backs against a small wall crowned with railing encircling the roof. 

"You told you're going to come back home after school," the boy grumbled and stuffed a fistful of chips in his face. Higurashi had her lunch box in her lap and was eating in a way which would make every well-mannered person sigh in awe. She was taking tiny bits of food, carefully chewing them and swallowing before answering. Her ladylike behavior was even more visible because of the contrast with the ruffian talking with his mouth full and not caring about crumbles falling on his flashy and unfashionable outfit.

"I'm sorry, but I promised the girls to go out with them. It won't take long, just a trip to WacDonald..." she said in a pleading tone and gave the boy a smile Hojo saw for the first time in his life. It made his heart skip a beat. 

Obviously her charm could reach even the rotten heart of a violent, barbaric person sitting next to her, because the boy awkwardly looked away. His fake ears lowered - it was a clever optic illusion because he tilted his head just the right way. Maybe he was - on top of being a shady person - a furry? Hojo trembled at that idea. A furry cosplayer. It was obvious Higurashi was spending time with him because she was way too nice to reject company of even such a crazy ruffian. Only Higurashi could find it in herself to overlook that person's bad sides. She was truly an angel. 

"Uh... Keh, do whatever you want, wench! Just don't go sticking your nose in trouble like you always do!" the boy in red put his hands in his sleeves, still looking away. Higurashi giggled cutely and rubbed his shoulder.

"Oh, koinu, don't be so grumpy." she cooed. 'Koinu?' "I will be careful and won't go anywhere suspicious, promise.."

"Oi! Don't call me that, wench!" the boy demanded. Higurashi covered her mouth to smooth a fit of giggles. 'Such an adorable sound.' thought Hojo dreamily.

"Call you what, koinu?" asked Higurashi. The boy moved closer, kneeling on one knee and leaning over her petite body. "What are you going to do to stop me, huh?"

"I will..." he growled, lifting his hand. Hojo felt his insides freeze. Was he going to hit her? For calling him a puppy? That delinquent...! He had to save his angel! Hojo dropped his bag, the sound of it hitting the ground swallowed by the melodious laughter of the girl.

"No, no, no...!" the boy was... Tickling her? Hojo blinked - he hadn't seen the fast movement of the gang boy's hand which came to contact with Higurashi's side and elicited more laughter from the girl who futilely tried to escape his grasp. "Inu, don't...!"

"Consider this a warning, wench," the red-clad youth sat down again, letting Higurashi sit straight again and fix her blouse and lunch box before it could fall from her lap. "Next time I'll tickle you until you can't laugh anymore," he warned, his voice grumpy. but his lips curled in a smug smirk. Hojo glared at him. How could this rude boy touch this delicate cherry petal with his rough hands?

'Maybe he's a pervert? And he tried to touch Higurashi's...' Hojo's gaze drifted to a certain round parts of Kagome's anatomy. "...Bosom?"

At the same moment Kagome picked up her chopsticks the boy with fake dog ears flashed his obviously fake fangs and stuffed a rice cake stolen from her lunch box in his mouth. He swallowed almost without chewing, but the girl noticed the robbery and glared at him.

"Dog-boy..." she started, her voice stern. Hojo fisted his hand. 'Now she'll tell him to get lost, this gluttonous pervert, this bad, bad boy!'

"What?" the gang boy asked and smirked at her. "It's not like I'm going to go back to the shrine to have lunch and the chips are not a nu-trio-us meal. You're thin and short, you don't need so much food anyway."

To Hojo's surprise the girl didn't shout at the boy. She smiled.

"I'll consider it a roundabout compliment and not say 'it," she announced. The boy visibly relaxed. 

"It's appreciated. The concrete tastes like shit."

Hojo could just stand there and stare at the couple sharing Higurashi's lunch, moving from bickering to making the other smile or blush. Couldn't that stupid boy realize she was sick? She should eat as much as possible to get stronger! And it seemed he was angering her on purpose, just to argue with her! He felt a pang of jealousy every time Higurashi laughed because of what the boy had said something.

It was only when the muffled sound of the bell rang somewhere under their feet Hojo realized he should leave - otherwise the gang boy would notice him and who knew what he'd do? After all Hojo was Higurashi's boyfriend, this gang member could get violent to show his dominance and ownership over this helpless, meek girl. Hojo wasn't a fighter, he was smart and he knew he wouldn't stand a chance against a street fighter. He had to use his cunning mind to save Higurashi. He couldn't confront the red-clad boy just yet.

The last thing he heard when he was closing the door was Higurashi reminding the boy she would be home an hour later and the boy grumbling that he would probably be roped in helping her grandfather again.

When Hojo was walking downstairs he realized how controlling the boy was - he was monitoring Higurashi's every move, she had to practically beg him to let her see her friends. 'How cand Higurashi stand that guy? He groped her and stole her food and then was bold enough to order her around!' She was probably too blind by her innocence to his badness. Or maybe she was too scared of him to deny him or defend herself. Hojo knew he needed to act fast, before his angelic, helpless girl could get hurt by that shady person. He would do anything to keep Higurashi safe.


	3. Friends Know Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, it is kinda AU since while rewatching the Final Act I found that around the graduation/end battle with Naraku Hojo was unaware of Inuyasha and stuff. So he couldn't investigate. I also kinda write it when they're in high school and Hojo attends the same school as the girls (in canon he went to all-boy school).  
> At first I was trying to fit the story in the canon, but I really wanted to write it after the 160th episode and when Kagome's friends already saw Inuyasha, but didn't know much about him and had the truth mixed in with Kagome's misleading confessions and their predictions. Hence I had to make this story into an AU and make the quest for the jewel shards longer than it was in real.  
> So - in short words - the quest is still going, Kagome's in her first year of high school. Hojo is very good at not noticing stuff that doesn't fit in his world view and the trio is still very interested in Kagome's love life.  
> .Also - Merry holidays, you guys!

Hojo sighed. He was sitting under a tree, watching Higurashi and her three friends chatting joyfully about something girly. Since yesterday he couldn't think about anything else than the poor girl pulled in the unhappy relationship with the bad boy.

He had heard Yuka, Eri and Ayumi a few times when they had talked about the bad boy who had been a close friend - they had said 'boyfriend' - of Higurashi's. They had been worried about her mental health, her safety, her heart... And now they were all sitting there and none seemed worried. Were they just playing to make Higurashi feel better? That must be it! Oh, they were such good, caring friends!

When he was thinking this Hojo realized tha if there was someone knowing - and willing to tell him - about that gang boy those three were those people. After all Higurashi had been telling them about him for a while now. From what he knew from crime books and movies and from some stuff his uncle - a policeman - had told him, the good research was a half of a success. One had to know everything about their opponent. Hojo reached for his bag and forget a plan while approaching the four schoolgirls.

.

This was how after the school day was over Hojo found himself and three of the previously mentioned girls in a fast food restaurant, gathered around their favourite table.

"It's a pity Kagome couldn't come with us," sighed the boy while putting a tray with boxes of french fries and sandwiches on the table. The trio nodded and hummed in agreement.

"She had already planned to meet..." Yuka fell silent, as if realizing she was about to say something he shouldn't hear. Hojo noticed, but decided to not ask her about this right now. Instead he sat down and they started eating, each sipping their favourite drink. They were talking pleasantly about school-related topics for a while, Hojo wanted everyone to relax before starting asking his sneaky questions.

"I was planning to visit Higurashi today and help her with chemistry, we have a test coming up and she seems to have problems catching up," he said. Yuka and Eri looked at him in silence, but Ayumi shook her head.

"Today is a bad idea, Inuyasha's visiting," she replied. Hojo remembered this name - Higurashi had used it a few times. It was obviously a nickname or a gang name, no sane parent would call their child 'dog youkai'. Eri glared at Ayumi, who shrugged her shoulders. "What? Would you rather have Hojo going to Kagome's home and meet him there?"

"Hm..." Eri tilted her head. "Maybe it'd be better that way?"

"Like they'd fight for her or something..."

The girls looked down, obviously imagining the scene. Hojo easily imagined himself telling the other boy he was a bad influence and that Higurashi deserved a better company. But was he really to confront this delinquent boy? The one who had positively claimed Kagome as his girlfriend when she was obviously dating someone already - namely Hojo himself?

"Who's Inuyasha?" asked Hojo innocently, causing the trio to look at him.

"He's Kagome's boyfriend," started Ayumi, but Yuka nudged her with her elbow. "What?"

"We didn't actually hear them confirm that they're together!" she exclaimed.

"But they didn't deny it either," Ayumi pouted.

"That's because Kagome is so shy and secretive, and we had seen Inuyasha like three times in total. Give them time," Eri waved a french fry at them and turned to Hojo. "So, you see, they're somewhere around being officially a couple. We weren't sure their relationship was going to work, but it seems they solved their issues somehow..."

"And since Inuyasha is rarely in town..."

"And Kagome is sick so often..."

"...It's better to let them spend as much time as they can together."

"We're sorry..."

"I'm sure Kagome will talk to you about it when she gets a while. With all her illnesses and catching up with the school work..."

"...Yeah..."

"They're so cute together, you must meet Inuyasha one day!"

Hojo couldn't believe his ears. He looked at the trio who mere months ago had told him about a bad boy who had been sticking around Kagome and who had been violent and possessive. And now they were talking about this Inuyasha being Higurashi's boyfriend as if all the information about him being a two-timer with foul mouth and bad attitude were irrelevant.

"But...Isn't he the boy you told me about?" he asked. "The one you told me that is trying to steal Higurashi from under my nose? While having a girlfriend already?"

"Um..." said Eri. "You see, Hojo, things were more complicated than we knew..."

"Isn't he the delinquent bad boy who swears and is violent?" he continued.

"Well. he's pretty gruff and can put more swear words n a sentence than a sailor...." admitted Yuka.

"Isn't he the boy who is possessive and controlling?" he finished. After all their previous descriptions of the bad boy were right on spot. Why were they acting like this now? This was the same person and Hojo knew for a fact how this Inuyasha was treating Higurashi.

"Well..." suddenly Ayumi fell silent and stared at something behind Hojo's back. All four of them looked that way and they saw through the window a pair walking down a sidewalk across the street.

Hojo saw a girl in a blue dress, with a waterfall of dark hair falling down her back. She was walking beside a tall boy dressed in a pair of baggy jeans and a red shirt, with silver hair tied in a ponytail and with a basketball cap on his head. The boy was holding a few boxes and multiple bags were hanging from his elbows. The boy felt Yuka's hand touch his shoulder.

"Come, we'll introduce you!" she encouraged him to follow her and the two other girls who already stood up and were walking towards the door. Hojo followed slowly after the girls, trying to understand why their attitude towards Inuyasha changed so drastically. A few moths ago Yuka and Eri had been telling him he had a chance to win Higurashi's heart. Now all three of them were apparently hoping Higurashi's relationship with that boy could work. That was insane and Hojo was too confused to worry about facing his rival for Higurashi's heart. He had to find the truth hidden behind all those lies. He knew that he could reveal it and was sure it'd change everything.

"It will be so much fun!" he could hear the girls giggle.

He walked after the girls running to stop the walking couple - Higurashi seemed embarrassed, but she waved her hand and said something to the boy at her side. He glared at the approaching women, but stopped and half turned to them, scowling.

Hojo took a deep breath. After all he wanted to learn more about this Inuyasha guy. Maybe this was not a bad thing to meet him face to face? Definitely it'd be better to observe and analyze his words and actions instead of the words of the three Higurashi's friends. They were obviously mistaken, probably by an excellent acting on Inuyasha's part. And his good looks - Hojo noticed all three of them were giving Inuyasha's bare muscled arms and exotic features appreciating looks.

The school boy gave the gang member a disapproving glance. He could have some muscles here and there, but it was nothing compared to his good looks, excellent grades and flawless manners. And even if Higurashi's friends were calling him her boyfriend Hojo was sure that he could win his girl back. 

After all who would want to be a girlfriend of a dangerous, bad-tempered boy like this one carrying Higurashi's bags?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It seems Hojo can't count of Kagome's friends to help him in his pursuit of the truth. They're obviously deceived by the cunning, handsome liar Inuyasha, led into believing he isn't as bad as he really is. Hojo is a lone fighter for truth, justice and the heart of Kagome.  
> How the meeting of those two will look like? Will Hojo witness something? Will Inuysha get suspicious?  
> How was this chapter? I hope it wasn't very bad, I'm fighting my migraine, but I really wanted to show it to you, so yeah.


	4. Face to Face

Yuka, Eri and Ayumi encircled the waiting couple, greeting them happily. Hojo approached them much slower. He wasted a while to admire Higurashi's attire and the way her hair was swaying behind her back when she was moving. She was like a heavenly maiden from legends and Hojo found his heart skip a beat when she smiled at him.

"Um, hi, guys!" she said. "I didn't know you were here."

"We would go another way if we knew," added the boy standing beside her. Eri patted his bare bicep with a playful giggle, but then grabbed and squeezed it, her fingertips grazing his skin. The boy glared at her and freed his arm. "Keep your distance, woman!" he barked in an annoyed voice. Hojo frowned at his rude behavior towards one of his friends. Eri just giggled and made a move as if to reach for the boy's arm again. The white-haired individual moved to Higurashi's other side, trying to use her as a living shield against her friends. The girl looked back at him, but just bit her bottom lip. 

"Hello," Hojo said as he stood in front of them. his eyes trained on the other boy. "I believe we weren't introduced to each other. I'm Hojo Keichi," he outstretched his hand towards the other boy. He could be a gang member, but it was not a reason to drop his own manners. Yellow eyes looked at his hand in bewilderment and a dark brow was raised as if asking why Hojo offered his hand to him.

"Inuyasha," the gang boy shrugged and turned his head to look at the girls gathered around Higurashi, all four of them were observing him - Higurashi with worry while her friends with curiosity. Yuka whispered something to Eri's ear and both girls grinned like crazy.

"May I ask for your last name?" Hojo inquired, his arm dropping limply to his side when it became obvious Inuyasha wasn't going to shake it. The boy didn't realize at first that the other male had his arms full of boxes and bags, too focused on his bad manners. The gang boy opened his mouth to answer, but Higurashi was faster.

"It's Akita," she revealed and stood just beside Inuyasha, giving him a glance. The boy closed his mouth, surprise clear on his face. 'He probably didn't expect Higurashi to tell me,' Hojo thought. 'It'll be easier to track him down with his last name. If it was his real last name...'

"Akita? Isn't it a dog breed?" Hojo tilted his head. The other boy growled at him, quite realistically imitating an annoyed dog's growl. To Hojo it was almost certain both his first and last names were fake, derived from his behavior and probably given to him by his fellow gang members. Still, there was a chance Hojo could track him down by them.

"At least it doesn't mean 'pathetic'," he looked Hojo straight in the eye, obviously challenging him. Hojo decided not to dwell on the matter to prevent the other boy from growing suspicious or - gods forbid - violent. 

"See? They're already fighting over Kagome!" came Yuka's excited voice. The bad boy's glare turned her way and she gave him an encouraging grin. 

"Ah, this is so romantic!" Ayumi grabbed Eri's shoulder for support when she looked dazedly at the blushing Higurashi and glaring Akita. 

"It ain't romantic and we sure as hell aren't fightin' over Kagome!" the silver-haired boy stated.

"Yeah, right, right." Yuka nodded with a grin and leaned in to say in a loud whisper to Kagome. "We're jealous!"

"Um... I... You, guys..." replied Higurashi weakly and laughed awkwardly. "Just let's go home, okay?"

Hojo frowned at the trio immediately swarming the couple and practically dragging them down the sidewalk, almost forgetting Hojo was standing there. The three friends of Higurashi's bad been always rooting for him, but now it was clear to him they were bewitched by the bad boy's charm. 

'It's true, girls are drawn to dangerous men over the good ones,' he sighed in his mind. He walked a little behind the whole group - the Akita boy was staying at Higurashi's side, but wasn't engaging the girls in a pleasant talk as he should - he was just cutting in from time to time, mostly adding short comments or answering questions directed to him.

'And being silent adds more mysterious vibe to it,' the school boy thought, frowning a little more. It was obvious to him that Akita Inuyasha was pretending to be someone else around Higurashi's friends to make them think he was actually cool. It was apparent their opinion about him had changed after meeting the boy and Hojo had to be honest with himself - he was amazed by the other boy's acting skills. 'Well, I suppose, you must know how to fool normal people when you're a gang member,' Hojo thought, listening to the Ayumi talking about a movie she wanted the rest of the group to see. 

"Hey, Kagome," Eri grinned at Higurashi when the other girl managed to convince the rest to give it a try. She looked back at the boy walking behind her and grinned. "Hojo told us he wants to help you studying for the next test," she winked.

"Ah, yes, I can lend my notes to you, but I'd like to explain to you things you can not get," Hojo nodded vigorously. Learning and tutoring others was his thing, he was often helping his other class mates. He was sure he could also use his alone time with Higurashi to talk to her about her choice of a boyfriend.

"Keh, as if Kagome needs some idiot helping her studyin'. She's plenty studied," Inuyasha voiced his opinion and earned three giggles from their friends and a glance from Higurashi, who then looked at Hojo with a thankful smile. The school boy was looking at the other male with a small frown, unpleased by his words, but didn't have time to voice his opinion about rude people.

"It is very kind of you, but I don't want to trouble you," she said with an apologetic expression. "But I won't turn down an offer of lending me your notes for a day, if it's okay?" she added with hope in her brown eyes. How could he deny her anything when she was looking so cute? Hojo reached in his bag and took out of it a notebook before realizing what he was doing. With a smile he offered her the notebook.

"Here, keep it as long as you want and if you need an explanation or anything just let me know," he said, utterly happy. Well, it was disappointing he wouldn't be visiting her, but her hands touched his when she took the notebook and stuffed it in one of the bags hanging from Inuyasha's elbow.

"Thanks, Hojo, you're a real friend," Higurashi grinned. "And don't mind Inuyasha, he's always like this around new people," Akita scowled at Hojo, but remained silent. The group resumed walking, with the girls doing majority of talking. Hojo was sometimes joining in the talk, telling Higurashi some stories from the school life she had missed, but otherwise he was thinking about the boy still walking beside her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it good? Is it bad? Is this story in general pleasant to read?  
> Actually this chapter grew to be too long (I'm trying to keep chaps of this story ca 1.5k words long) and I had to cut it in half - the next chapter will be under 1k words, but I'll post it in a few hours.  
> And, to answer my lovely reviewers - yes, there will be a day when Hojo learns thr truth about youkai, Inuyasha and stuff. But this is not this day. I'm still unsure Yuka, Eri and Ayumi will learn the truth...


	5. Eavesdropping

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As promised - the second part of the original chapter 4 before I saw the word count.

Finally they reached the stairs to Higurashi Shrine and the group split. Hojo walked just beyond the corner when he realized he had given Higurashi a wrong notebook. He turned on his heels and ran back to switch the notebooks. To his surprise the couple was already on the top of the long stairs - he ran after them, panting as he battled the steps and wondering - not for the first time in his life - how this petite, always so sick girl was able to climb them on her own. 

When he reached the top of the stairs he saw Higurashi and Akita enter not the house, but a well house to the side of the bigger building. He walked towards the opened door, much slower now. Higurashi's voice drifted to his ears.

"Do you think the gang will like the treats?" the girl asked. Hojo froze and slowly crept closer, partially hiding behind the corner of the small structure. 'The gang? Is Higurashi in Akita's gang? That horrible person already dragged her in some bad stuff!" the school boy bit his bottom lip, thinking what he should do now. He could approach them and tell them he knew everything, but he supposed Akita would kill him or something like this. It would be better to approach someone else - maybe Higurashi's mother would help him to save her daughter? She obviously didn't know about the bad company her child was in.

"The brat will die of sugar overdose, that's for sure," came a gruff reply, but amusement was clear in the words. Then it became annoyed. "You wanna stay here and read the whimp's notes, right?"

"Exactly!" Higurashi chirped happily, then sighed in resignation. "Look, I need to pass this test and I can't keep Hojo's notes forever. Aw, don't look so annoyed, you'll have plenty of free time to torment Buyo. Or you can just go home and come to get me later."

"After the snake incident? No way I'm leavin' you here, wench!" barked the boy. 

"Hey, I killed that snake myself while you were trying to dig yourself out of a trash can!"

"Feh! And speaking of digging, out of what hole you dug Akita?" Hojo bit his bottom lip. So he had been right, it was a fake last name!

"I kinda thought about your ears," Higurashi giggled. "And what should I come up with?" 

"Something cool! Like Taisho! Or Senshi! Or whatever!" the gang boy took an audiable inhale, obviously trying to keep his annoyance in control. Then he added, his voice low and dangerous. "We're not alone."

Hojo had only time to get surprised that his presence was revealed. He didn't have time to ponder if he had made a noise or something, because suddenly there was a boy in a red shirt blocking his vision, his arms crossed above his chest. Hojo took a step back when he saw the hate and promise of pain in those yellow eyes.

"I, I..." Hojo started.

"Snooping around, are we?" Inuyasha growled and leaned in to scowl at Hojo from a shorter distance. "Are we trying to get ripped to pieces?"

"Koinu, what...? Hojo?" Higurashi came from behind the white-haired boy who immediately took a step back. Hojo's wide, fearful eyes locked on the girl, who was frowning, but smiling calmingly. "What's going on?"

"Um, Higurashi... I gave you a wrong notebook..." he uttered and stole a glance at the other boy. "Um..." He knew that his well-being was hanging on a thin line, not sure if Higurashi could prevent Inuyasha from hurting him. He was sure the girl meant him no harm, but the boy was a different case entirely.

"He was eavesdropping on us," Inuyasha said in a low voice. Higurashi covered her mouth as she gasped.

"I didn't hear anything!" Hojo proclaimed. "I just came to... Switch the notebooks... I swear, I just came up the stairs and heard your laughter from this shed!"

Three minutes later Hojo was descending the stone steps of Higurashi Shrine, feeling the angry eyes of the gang boy watching his every step. He knew one thing - he had to be more careful. Gang members weren't people one'd like to play around with. 

But this encounter with Inuyasha only made Hojo's determination grow. Higurashi was in some serious trouble and her friends didn't see that. They were blind to Inuyasha's bad sides, led to believe he was a harmless person, a cool boy to spend time with. 

Hojo looked back and saw the figure in old-fashioned clothes standing under the red gate. He gulped, remembering the words Inuyasha had whispered when Hojo bad started his descent. 

"I'm watching ya."

A shiver ran down Hojo's back. He was playing with fire, but for Higurashi... For Higurashi he was willing to do anything.

And he knew what to do next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uff, Hojo barely evaded a beating! And no one - not Higurashi, nor her friends - see that the white-haired boy is no good! What Hojo's going to do now? His precious Higurashi is in a gang because if this bad boy and she desperately needs to be saved! There is no time to stand by and let Inuyasha drag Higurashi further in the dark world of law-less world of gangsters!  
> ~cackles~


	6. Innocent Inquiries

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First - thank you all so much for your sweet comments! I'm so glad this story makes other people giggle.  
> Second - I know I'm kinda slow with updates of my other stories - I'm getting to work on Adorable Curse and hopefully will have something else to update/post soon.  
> Third - It's highly possible I'll do a sequel about the Inu Fight Club (don't know what it is? Check out Barks Chapter 59: The Club. Origins) because I have an idea for a plot.

Hojo sighed in sadness. Higurashi was sick again - the boy haven't seen her for past three days. It seemed she had to go to a specialist in a city to the North. It was depressing to see Higurashi's seat empty again - and here she had been looking so healthy lately!

From what he had gathered that Inuyasha boy was accompanying her to make sure she was safe. In Hojo's opinion a boy slightly older than them and with his character was the last person one should entrust their sick child. But yet, from what Higurashi's friends had told him before the school today, Inuyasha had been taking care of Higurashi many times already, replacing her mother and letting Mrs. Higurashi take care of the rest of the family.

It would be really noble of the boy, but Hojo had his doubts.

He was almost sure Inuyasha was taking advantage of the kindness of the shrine keepers. From what he knew already Inuyasha was living with them while visiting Tokyo, it was probably the safest place to stay for a guy like him - no police men would suspect a gangster hiding in a shrine.

Hojo knew he couldn't wait any longer. When the lessons were over he left the school and went a different way than usual, the path which was leading to the stone steps of the Shrine. He was walking alone. The school boy looked down at the shorter boy, who smiled up at him.

"Hi, Hojo," said Souta. "You're headed to see sis? She's out of town," the boy said with a polite bow to the older one. Hojo smiled at the brother of his crush.

"I know," he nodded. "I have a thing to talk about to your mother..."

"Cool! We can go home together!" Souta exclaimed. At first Hojo wanted to say he had something else to take care of first, but then he thought it could be a divine intervention. Souta could know something...

"Oh, yes," the older boy said. "Higurashi is visiting a doctor, right? With Inuyasha?"

"Oh, yeah!" Souta nodded eagerly. "He's always making sure sis is safe."

"This is a relief," Hojo said slowly. "I met Inuyasha the last time he was in Tokyo and I must say I'm surprised your mother is fine with making him responsible for Higurashi's well-being," he added, observing Souta's innocent, open face. The boy giggled, his eyes sparkling.

"I'm sure sis can tame Big Dog Brother with one sit command!" the boy snickered. "And I'm sure he can keep her safe no matter what. Big Dog Brother's fast and strong, cunning... Even if he usually acts silly. And he totally loves sis and follows her like a lost puppy!"

'What's with all those dog references?' Hojo thought, imagining the Higurashi family playing a game where they were coming up with all possible dog-related puns because of Inuyasha's name. He wondered if the boy ever got annoyed about that - he obviously didn't like Higurashi calling him 'koinu'.

"Um..." Hojo looked ahead for a moment. "So... How did he come to be Higurashi's friend? Where is he from?"

To his amazement Souta knew the answers and was more than happy to share his knowledge about his Big Dog Brother with Kagome's friend. Hojo felt a little guilty asking the unsuspecting boy about the gang member. He had to make sure never to let anyone know who his informer was - maybe Inuyasha'd try to harm the boy for spilling his secrets?

"Sis met Big Dog Brother when she was running from a monster lady. Big Brother kicked that lady's butt for attacking sis and since then he's keeping sis safe. From what I know Big Dog Brother's from the neighborhood of the Shrine, he actually lived in the forest growing on the Shrine grounds," the boy reached the stone steps first and started to climb them with ease Hojo envied. "Since they're on a hero mission to gather jewel shards they;re traveling a lot across the whole country."

"He lived in the fores? Like a homeless bum?" Hojo asked incredulously, following Souta up. The younger boy nodded eagerly.

"Yeah! His brother rules in the West but Big Dog Brother didn't inherit anything from his parents, beside the Tessaiga and his red kimono, so he had to fend for himself since he was a kid. He knows how to camp in the wild, how to find water, make fire, hunt, everything!"

Souta went on, telling Hojo about Inuyasha promising to take him camping as a birthday gift, but Hojo did't listen to him anymore. He was more focused on sorting all the information Souta provided so eagerly.

Inuyasha's brother was ruling... Should he understand this as Inuyasha's brother being a wealthy businessman or a higher member of the underground society?

Higurashi's sicknesses had started around the same time Inuyasha had entered her life with a violent act of beating up a woman - probably pretty ugly one, to be called a 'monster lady'. Maybe it had been some old, wrinkled lady?

Before Hojo's mind eye the white-haired boy not only hit the old woman, he also robbed her. This vision was the result of him focusing on the 'gathering the jewel shards'. It seemed the boy was misled to think that pocket picking was a heroic mission to save the world. It made sense - after all Inuyasha seemed to be a street kid, stealing money and jewelry would be his way of providing for himself.

And he was trotting, not mentioning trespassing on a private grounds.

As Hojo was reaching the Higurashi house the list of Inuyasha's crimes grew longer and longer when the boy was decoding every bit of information from Souta. The younger boy was already running to open the door, calling to his family that he was home.

Hojo looked at the house and the great tree growing nearby. He thought about Mrs. Higurashi and her kindness, old Mr. Higurashi with his vast knowledge about the past, the innocent boy worshiping his hero and the girl he loved, who was in real danger from the boy she was calling 'koinu'.

How could such a bad, vile demon make his den in the house of the kindest, most innocent and good-hearted family?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The best part imho is that Souta told Hojo everything he knew. And I really enjoy Hojo's cluelessness about Kagome being a total badass and seeing her as a meek girl.  
> Next chapter Hojo faces Mr.s Higurashi. Guess what's going to happen? Will Hojo make the coolest mom ever start doubting Inuyasha? Will he make her forbid Kagome from seeing the hanyou? Will the web of lies be torn to pieces?


	7. I'm Telling Mom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I see that you all waited to see Mama Higurashi in action. So... Here she comes!  
> Hojo vs Mama H. - writing this was my b.day gift for myself. It turned out a little too long for a chapter, but I think you won't mind ~winks~

Hojo stepped in the house more slowly than Souta who already had took off his shoes and was running up the stairs to carry his bag to his room.

"Good day!" Hojo called. "It's Hojo Keichi!"

"Oh, good day!" Higurashi's mom came out from the kitchen door and smiled at him. "Come in and join me. We're going to have lunch, hope you can eat with us?" she didn't wait for his answer and went back into the kitchen.

"Oh... You don't need to trouble yourself..." Hojo slipped his shoes and made his way to the kitchen. "I... I wanted to talk to you, Mrs. Higurashi," the boy said to the woman putting a kettle on the stove. It was obvious from the stuff laying on the counter and the table that she was halfway through making a meal. But when he spoke she looked at him, her brow raised.

"That's alright, don't worry and just take a seat. So, what is it, dear?" she asked and opened a cupboard. "Beef?"

"Beef is nice," Hojo replied while sitting on a chair close to the end of the kitchen table. "I want to talk about Higurashi... I mean your daughter, Mrs. Higurashi."

"Mhm... Dear, you're friends since you were six, you can use her name," Mrs. Higurashi said while still going through the cupboard's contents. "She told you to call her Kagome, right? Chicken?"

"Chicken's nice," Hojo said, not really paying attention to the question, since he was still trying to find the best way to vocalize his suspicions about Inuyasha. He missed also what exactly the woman was doing, looking at his hands, rested on the edge of the table. "Um, yeah... Well... K-Kagome... Yes..." he muttered. "It's important and can't wait."

"Shrimp?" Mrs. Higurashi asked politely, the boy just hummed, not really noticing her speaking, organizing his arguments in his head, nervous because he really wanted Mrs. Higurashi to treat the situation her daughter was in with all seriousness. "Okay, what's on your mind?"

Hojo looked up - just in time to see the middle-aged woman putting in front of him three instant ramen cups and a pair of chopsticks. His wide, surprised eyes met hers - full of motherly kindness. A second passed in total silence and stillness. 

"Oh, sorry," Mrs. Higurashi chuckled and shook her head. "Just pick one, Souta and gramps will have the other two. I guess I'm too used to make three of these for Inuyasha when he comes to visit."

"Um..." Hojo decided to accept the chicken flavored ramen, but didn't start eating. "I wanted to talk about Inuyasha, actually." he said. Mrs. Higurashi tilted her head and smiled.

"Ah, Kagome said you two met recently," she said and grabbed two pairs of chopsticks. She put them on a tray with the two other ramen cups - just in time to hand the tray to Souta and tell him to find gramps in his shed and make sure he ate. Hojo used this to eat his ramen before it got cold. He wanted to have Mrs. Higurashi's full attention, after all this was a serious matter and distractions weren't welcome. When he finished the woman was sitting on the other side of the table, a cup of tea in her hand, another placed near his seat. "Now, dear, you want to talk about Inuyasha? I hope you're here not because he insulted you. If you are I'm sorry...." 

Hojo shook his head, causing the woman to grow silent.

"That boy is extremely rude, this is true, but I am not here to get apologies, Mrs. Higurashi," he assured her and took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that Higu- I mean Kagome is in danger."

""Danger?" brown eyes, so much similar to the eyes of her daughter, looked at the boy in confusion, a hint of worry in their depths. She wrapped her hands around her cup. "I'm sure that Inuyasha won't let my girl get hurt. He'd rather die," she said with faith and warmth in her voice. Hojo realized that Higurashi's mother was deceived as much as her and her friends were, thinking Inuyasha was a good guy, against all evidence. It was true, people were inclined to see and hear only what they wanted to.

"I mean Inuyasha is the danger. He does illegal stuff," the boy blurted out, deciding to shower her with evidence, tell her everything. She couldn't - wouldn't - hold to her wrong opinions and beliefs after learning the truth. He knew he could sound a little rude, but the safety and well-being of Higurashi was at stake!

"Huh?" the woman raised her brows.

"Yes! I heard them talk about their gang! And they guys - I mean Eri, Yuka and Ayumi - had told me he's a gang member. But it's eve worse, he made Higurashi join his gang and do all that horrible crimes with him."

"Huh?" Mrs. Higurashi's lips parted in surprise, the corners of her mouth twitching.

"Yes!" Hojo nodded and took a sip of his tea to wet his dry throat. "Souta told me they're robbing people of their jewelry and Inuyasha's bullying old ladies. And he abuses Higurashi, never letting her spend time with me and the girls, controlling her life and being rude to her. And he's violent and probably does some anabolic steroids because he's a lot stronger than he should. I'm afraid he takes advantage of her. And of you too, Mrs. Higurashi. You should not let him stay at the shrine, around Higurashi. He's a bad influence and if we don't do anything he may harm her or make her do something even worse..."

Hojo was so focused on telling Mrs. Higurashi everything, sure his words would make her understand how dire the situation was. The woman was sitting oddly still, not even drinking her tea anymore, just observing him. He felt he was getting to her, maybe he could make her see through the fog of deception and lies...

"Please, Mrs. Higurashi, I... I care for your daughter very much, I don't want her suffering because of the bad boy who latched himself to her kindness. She's so sick and he treats her like she isn't, like she isn't a lady," he confessed, looking in Mrs. Higurashi's eyes. "You can forbid her from seeing him. If you want to I can travel with her to see the doctors... I promise, I won't let her be hurt. This gang member is lying to you, he made you and the guys - I mean Eri, Ayumi and Yuka - think that he's a decent person, but he isn't...""

"Dear, do you have any evidence?" the older woman cut in. Hojo opened his mouth a few times and then deflated, slumping on his chair.

"Um, no," he muttered. Mrs. Higurashi sighed and took a sip of her tea.

"I see. So, basically, I have your word against Inuyasha's. Well, actually, your word against Kagome and her gang's."

"I am not lying, Mrs. Higurashi," Hojo assured her. He wasn't a boy to spread lies or rumors, he was always masking sure of this.

Still, he realized, he had no physical proof Inuyasha was a gang member and was dragging Higurashi in trouble. And since Inuyasha had been lying to her for months or years, making her trust him... He realized that it would take more than just his honesty to influence Mrs. Higurashi's opinion on the matter. But he hoped his words made her doubt the white-haired boy, at least a little. Maybe she'd notice things, knowing what Hojo knew?

"I am not saying you're a liar, dear, but I think you're a little confused and misunderstand some things," she said softly. As he was trying to find an argument to convince Kagome's mother that he was right Mrs. Higurashi stood up and went to a shelf where a few photos in frames were. She took one and put it in front of the puzzled boy. It was depicting four teens and a kid. The woman pointed a finger at each one while talking. The people in the picture were laying on grass in a circle, only their heads and shoulders visible in the picture.

"This is Kagome, my strong-willed, good-hearted girl," she smiled fondly. "This is Inuyasha, a boy who had to live alone and face prejudice and hate because he looks different. So in order to survive he became strong and rude, but at the same time he used his strength to protect others and rudeness to protect his soft heart from being hurt by others. This boy," she pointed to a black-haired boy. "His name's Miroku. He was orphaned at young age because his dad died of an illness Miroku suffers too. If he won't find a cure to it it will spread and kill him eventually. This sweet girl is Sango, who just recently lost her whole family in a horrible accident - the only survivors being herself and her brother. While she had terrible scars on her body, her brother suffers from amnesia and don't even recognize her. And this little boy is Shippou. He also lost his parents, first mom, then dad and now lives as a foster son of Kaede, an old healer Kagome and Inuyasha went to see."

Hojo looked up at the woman and then back at the picture. He noticed that only Higurashi was looking at the camera, everyone else was slightly turned to gaze at her, but every person in the picture was smiling. 

"This is the gang they were talking about, their gang of friends. They all are good kids, trying to find their way in life," Mrs. Higurashi said. "Since Kagome made friends with them I feel like I have four more children, because she's telling me about their adventures every time we have a while. Look at them, dear, do they look like bad people? They're just teens, like you. They're not a bunch of vile people after Kagome. They're her closest friends, willing to go to great lengths to protect her and each other."

Hojo's gaze dropped back to the picture. The people in it seemed... Okay. But he was sure it was just another deception, the picture being a thing to make Mrs. Higurashi not doubt them and their intentions. He realized the woman didn't believe him at all - she had been listening to Inuyasha's lies for so long she couldn't see the truth anymore. It was a horrible realization that an adult could be misled just like a teen. The stories about each member of the gang members had to be skillfully fabricated lies. There was no way so many teens with so tragic background could meet. Each one of them had a sappy tale to tell, to make those with gentle hearts lean towards them and want to help them. 

He needed proofs. He needed evidences. When he was walking down the shrine steps he was planning to make a file with all the data, making it the ultimate proof that he was right and that Inuyasha and his gang were bad. Mrs. Higurashi gave him some leads, telling the names they were using. He could look them up.

.

Mrs. Higurashi looked after the boy and giggled. He was so silly, thinking her Kagome needed saving from Inuyasha's clutches. Mrs. Higurashi was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt that her daughter was the safest exactly where she was in the said hanyou clutches. 

Still, the boy was too interested in this and could unveil things which should be hidden. He had good intentions, it was obvious, but good intentions didn't ensure a good outcome of the matter. The shrine keeper walked to the phone and chose a number.

"Hallo? Can I speak with Mrs. Akita...?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love how Higurashi family members are speaking only truth.  
> What do you think? Was this chapter good? I hope it was, because it sure was good to write and I'm half asleep posting it because I stayed up long to post it this night.


	8. Library Holds Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Paragraphs started with ~ are notes. I know I could use italics or sth, but I'm lazy and my writing program of choice is minimalistic af and doesn't have italics and bolding, so yeah.

Hojo was sitting in the library, writing in his brand new red notebook. He was a very solid, very organized person, using logic and deduction in his life.

Maybe his hair wasn't as long and extraordinary as some other guy's, but there was a good brain hidden under it. And Hojo knew how to use his brain to its fullest.

He looked down at his notebook and lowered his pencil.

 

~Name: Akita (?) Inuyasha   
~Age: around 18  
~Height: above 1.70  
~Hair color: Black. He wears a white wig, but his eyebrows give him away  
~Eye color: unknown, he wears yellow contact lenses.   
~Built: Lean, but muscular.  
~Way of dressing: A red old-fashioned kimono or tshirts and baggy jeans. Zori or no shoes. A bandana around his head.

The boy stopped writing for a while and looked at his notes. He had a really nice handwriting, easy to read and elegant. He resumed his work.

~Personality Traits: rude, impatient, violent, possessive, demanding, obsessive, controlling. Liar, bully. Disloyal.

He frowned. He listed all the things he had seen in Inuyasha, but now he realized he had to be wrong. Even the worst people had at least one good quality. He couldn't overlook it in Inuyasha, even if he despised the boy. He tapped his chin with the tip of his pencil, his gaze wandering around the room when he was thinking.

It was a typical library room - bookshelves under the walls, computer stands on one side of the room while tables for studying in nice rows under the wall with windows. There were a few people reading, writing like him or browsing the Web on the computers. A librarian - a short, dark-haired and dark-eyed young woman in an orange shirt, was fixing a bouquet of colorful flowers standing on her desk, just beside her computer. Her phone rang and she picked it.

"It's Lin... May I ask your last name and how many books you ordered? Hm... Yeah, it's already here, please, stop by to pick it up. Yes, I'll let you know when the sixth volume's back from the current reader," she said quietly, but loud enough to be clearly heard. She flashed Hojo a wide smile as she checked for a book someone had ordered to be brought to the reading room. Hojo smiled back, the same polite smile she had for him. Then he leaned over his notebook, deciding to add the positive thing to this part later. He couldn't find any. He bit his bottom lip, not really wanting to write the next line down. But he knew he had to be honest with himself and Yuka, Eri and Ayumi had confirmed this information to be true. As much as he hated it it was the fact. He promised himself it wouldn't be for long.

~Girlfriend: H. Kagome  
~Family: Parents (dead), half-brother  
~Friends: Miroku, Sango and Shippou (gang members)

He added all info he had from Higurashi's mother, describing each gang member in detail in this section. 

He was working for a half of an hour before he wrote everything he knew about Inuyasha, his gang and his relationships with everyone - Higurashi family, Higurashi's friends, the gang members and himself. He listed all the crimes he knew about - mugging elderly women, robbery, trespassing... There was a lot of it.

Hojo put his pencil aside and flexed his wrist. Then he picked up his notebook and walked to an empty computer table where he could access the Web.

First he typed Inuyasha's name in a normal search, but it didn't show anything of importance. He went to a page managed by police, where commoners could look up the database of wanted criminals or gangsters. He knew about this page from his uncle and was really glad that the police was updating it frequently, so everyone could see if someone suspicious was in fact a criminal.

To his disappointment not only Inuyasha but also his gang friends weren't listed. He tried to search by physical features, but it was no use. The Inu gang wasn't in the database. Hojo closed his notebook and put it in his backpack when he realized he wasn't alone anymore.

The librarian came to stand beside him, smiling warmly at him. She was really short, but very pretty, even if a little too old for him. 

"I saw on my screen you were browsing the Criminal Database," she said, explaining herself. He gave a nod - the security police of this reading room gave the librarian the right to see what people were typing in browsers on their computers. It was to prevent kids from browsing undesirable pages or download stuff they shouldn't. After all this reading room was for kids and teens to use, mostly for school-related purposes. The librarian's computer's screen had a program showing her which page each computer's user was visiting. Browsing the Criminal Database wasn't against the rules, but it certainly piqued the librarian's curiosity, and since she had nothing better to do she came to see why he had entered the page. She gave him a friendly smile and stole a glance at his screen. He didn't mind, after all she could probably read the same things from her own screen. He wasn't sure if she only knew he was on this page or knew what exactly he had been typing in the search section of the database.

"Yes, ma'am," Hojo looked to the ID badge on her chest, but her hair fell on it, covering it partially. He could read only her name and not her last name, and it would be rude to call a stranger by her first name. even adding a 'miss', so he settled on using 'ma'am'. "I was checking something."

"Inuyasha...?" she read the kanji and tilted her head to the side like a confused puppy. Hojo shook his head inwardly, it seemed the dog references were rubbing on him as well. "Such an unusual name. I know about only one Inuyasha."

Hojo's eyes flew up to her face, the librarian seemed to be lost in thought.

"R-really?" he breathed out. Could the librarian have some leads? Maybe she knew the gang boy? Oh, was it true that librarians were the best friends of every detective and held all the answers? He always thought it was a bit of a stretch that in many crime movies a librarian was the one to provide vital information to the detective, but maybe there was some truth to this cinematic motif? 

"Yeah, there's an old legend about a youkai - a forest spirit - living in the forest which once grew in this area. The forest on Higurashi Shrine grounds is all that remains of that great forest now. His name was Inuyasha."

Hojo felt his heart beating faster. Could it be Inuyasha had chosen this name after learning this legend - probably from Higurashi. After all Souta had told him the gang boy used to live in the forest belonging to the Shrine.

"Could you tell me this legend, ma'am?" he almost didn't dare to ask.

"Oh, I don't remember the whole thing, it was a long one, a part of a myth collection book," she chuckled. "I can find it in our catalog and you can borrow it, if you want to?" she suggested with a smile. She flickered her hair behind her shoulder while waiting for him to decide if he wanted the book. He was happy she was willing to help him, even if he was pretty sure learning this legend wouldn't get him any closer to his goal.

Hojo's gaze rested on the badge on her chest.

The next second the boy was running out of the library, his backpack forgotten.

The woman's name was Akita Lin.

 

The librarian picked up the backpack the strange boy had left. She closed the browser and returned to her desk to spend the last hour of her shift - she had other library users to help. Then she took the strange boy's bag and walked out of the building. The same moment she walked down the steps from large double door to the sidewalk a black limo stopped right in front of her and a door was opened for her to enter. The librarian grinned happily when she jumped inside and flung her arms around the man sitting inside. The limo moved away from the library as soon as the door closed behind the petite woman and joined other cars on the street.

"Fuwafuwa! You're back in Tokyo!" she exclaimed happily and then swatted his shoulder. "You didn't tell me you were returning today!"

"I had to bring her," replied the man, gesturing with his chin to the woman sitting on the other side of the limo. The librarian sat more properly and bowed to the woman who was observing them with a small smile.

"Hello, treasured daughter."

"Noble Mother," the librarian greeted politely, happy sparks in her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sticking to Japanese pet names, but don't worry, there will not be many of them, because I'm pretty sure Google Translator s a bad source of linguistic information. Anyway, if you want to know what 'fuwafuwa' means you need to go on a lil adventure.
> 
> Poor Hojo - he lost his notebook! And now it's in hands of some strange people! And the author has too much fun writing this story!


	9. Photos in a Park

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hojo starts to realize how deep and wide is the underground world. But he will surely overcome his fears, doubts and confusion - after all he's the good guy and good guys always win.  
> Right...?

Four days passed since that fateful day in the library. Hojo was sitting on a bench in a park. He was holding a bottle of orange juice in both hands. He had his backpack on the bench beside himself. It was almost empty - he had there only a set of pencils, a few gadgets, a small first aid kit, a camera, his phone and wallet. And a red notebook.

The backpack had miraculously appeared beside the front door of his house the same day he had fled the library, just a few hours after his return. Nothing had been stolen. The only one thing different was the red notebook itself. All the pages filled with his neat handwriting were gone. Instead on the inside of the cover there was a single sentence, written by a calligraphic master with a brush so thin and with lines so delicate it looked almost otherworldly.

Hojo brought the memory of that page with ease. His mind eye followed the soft strokes forming the sentence:

"Pups who dig in someone else's yard get their claws trimmed.  
Noble Mother"

He felt a wave of heat when he thought about the meaning behind this statement. It seemed innocent, but he knew better - it was a threat. It was a reminder, a warning he should stop whatever he was doing.

The name - Noble Mother - it didn't make sense. Who would sign such a warning with so odd name? 

Now he regretted running away from the library, especially because the librarian had been so friendly. But her knowledge about a Inuyasha and having the same last name the gang boy was supposed to bear... It was too much for the poor boy to take in, too fast. He had needed a breather, he hadn't been scared, just spooked and too anxious. Hojo was a calm person, keeping away from any suspicious things and people. Now he was entering a totally different world and the amount of tension was sometimes too much to handle.

And then, when he had calmed down and decided to return to the library, the bag had returned to him - probably the nice librarian had brought it to his house when her work was over, after all his wallet had been inside. He'd go see her and ask about that legend book, but the changes to his notebook were keeping him away from the library. Even if she wasn't the one who had written the note she probably knew who had done it.

Maybe he should pay Mrs. Akita a visit and try to convince her to tell him things? She surely had to know something.

Or maybe she was the Noble Mother?

When he had started his investigation he had expected that he'd lave to deal only with Inuyasha's gang. Now he felt like a lone warrior of justice facing the whole world of crime. It was impressing how wide was the web of the underworld society. He'd never suspect a librarian working in a kid's reading room in a public library to have connections in the dark underworld.

Hojo knew that the harmless looking predators were the worst. That was why he didn't like having a cat or a dog as a pet - they were carnivores. A turtle or a hamster were much better in his opinion.

Hojo shook his head when he realized his thoughts were straying away from the important matters. Now he had better understanding of the dangerous world Inuyasha was dragging his innocent Higurashi. And his determination to save her grew, even if he was perfectly aware how dangerous his path was.

He believed in himself and knew with that attitude he was going to win.

Good guys were always winning in the end, getting the love of their lives and showing the truth about everything the bad guys were trying to hide. This is why he refilled the notebook with all the data he had and decided to add more. Was there more noble deed than to save an innocent girl?

Hojo was in the park he knew Higurashi liked to visit. It was small and away from main streets, not many people were visiting it so it felt more private and secluded. Only a few kids and older people from the neighborhood were coming to this place. Higurashi family was often spending their Sundays in this park. It was only them in the park right now, the kids who had been playing nearby a couple of minutes ago had ran somewhere else.

A thick bush was hiding Hojo's bench from the place where the Shrine keepers were sitting on a blanket and sharing food while laughing and talking. Inuyasha was with them, clad in his old-fashioned kimono and with a red scarf around his head. Hojo took a picture - he caught Mrs. Higurashi handing a cup to the old man, Inuyasha taking a bite of a rice ball and Souta leaning in towards his sister to tell her something.

The school boy's eyes lingered on the scarf. One could think it was to cover his ears fro the wind. But Hojo knew it was not to cover his real ears - it was to hide his cosplay ones. Utterly pointless in Hojo's opinion, but maybe taking them off and putting on later was too much hassle? Or maybe they were glued to his wig?

He took a picture of the top of Inuyasha's head - the triangles were easily noticeable. Hojo frowned when he looked at the picture - Higurashi was wiping some rice from the tip of Inuyasha's nose and the boy was blushing.

They looked so ordinary, having a picnic like this during an early Sunday afternoon. Hojo laid his camera in his lap and sighed. He suddenly felt like a sick stalker, observing them like that. It was for better - Higurashi's - good, but it still felt wrong. He knew he should finish his case quickly. When he had came to the park he had thought he'd catch Inuyasha doing something suspicious. but the other boy was acting like a perfectly ordinary teen sharing a picnic with his girlfriend and her family. He didn't even shout at anyone yet.

Suddenly Souta threw a cooked egg at the older boy. probably because he had said something. Inuyasha had no chance to catch it. 

He did. With his mouth. The younger boy groaned theatrically while the rest of the family laughed and Inuyasha swallowed the egg, almost without chewing on it.

Hojo sighed inwardly. One thing was for sure - the gang boy was agile and was a glutton. But nothing he had done today was abnormal for most teens. The school boy watched a mock chopstick-battle for some food between Inuyasha and Mr. Higurashi, Souta cheering loudly for both fighters while Mrs. Higurashi was covering her grin behind a hand and her daughter was scowling at both males. A pickle sprang up from between the chopsticks and was caught by Inuyasha who let loose a happy cry of victory, which quickly changed in a whine of pain when Higurashi elbowed his ribs. The dropped pickle was caught by Mr. Higurashi who said something with an air of dignity and put the pickle in his mouth. Hojo, who had took a picture of the battle more to do something with his hands than to document it, sighed again. The whole taking photos which would prove him right thing wasn't going according to his predictions.

Suddenly he saw three girls running from a pathway to the spot where the family was sitting, Higurashi standing up to greet her school friends. Hojo felt a pang of jealously when he heard bits of conversation shared between the excited girls - it seemed Yuka, Eri and Ayumi were a little late for the picnic Higurashi had invited them to. Hojo was never invited. He was observing the girls sit around the blanket. Yuka and Ayumi sitting on both sides of the gang boy and grinning at scowling Higurashi while Eri took out of her bag her own camera and started taking photos featuring her friends and a panicked boy.

"They look nice, right?" came a voice from Hojo's left. The boy almost dropped his camera when he turned his head to the side to see a police man sitting next to him on the bench. The guy was observing Hojo with emerald green eyes full of curiosity. He was middle-aged and a little overweight, but not to the point where running after a suspect would be too hard for him. He had a friendly smile, a little too wide to be considered honest. "So, son, why are you spending the evening taking photos of an unsuspecting family?"

.

Inuyasha and Kagome both tensed and turned their heads slowly to face a big bush, their movements akin to motions of a predator sensing another dangerous hunter in the vicinity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oooops!  
> It looks like the shit is approaching the fan...
> 
> Ok, let's make a deal. If I get 40 or more reviews under this story on FFnet I'll write an epilogue featuring some of the mysterious characters... Or I can just do Q&A, whatever works for you?


	10. Before Gathered Witnesses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hojo vs Mrs. Higurashi 2  
> Who will win in this uneven match?

Hojo felt sweat run down his forehead when he was approaching the group sitting on a blanket. Inuyasha and Higurashi were the first ones who saw him - after all they were already looking his way. Hojo noticed that the girl moved closer to the boy and laid her hand on his forearm. She moved her lips as if whispering something, but it didn't look like anyone noticed.

"Oh?" Mrs. Higurashi looked up at Hojo and the police man who was walking just beside him. The police man's eyes were glued to Higurashi and Inuyasha, who were giving him wary looks. The police man, on the other hand, had in his eyes sparks of... Was it giddiness? Hojo spent a second just staring at the man. He had listened to Hojo's story, patiently letting him explain his off actions. He had shown interest and no will to ignore the school boy's concerns. On the contrary - he had suggested a confrontation.

Mrs. Higurashi cleared her throat and the police man blinked, looking at her.

"Ah, yes, forgive me," the police man introduced himself as Kyuubay Kaippou. "I came upon this young man when he was taking pictures of you and decided to investigate the matter. I think the boy has something to explain."

Hojo bit his bottom lip. He knew his situation could turn to really bad if he did something wrong. Souta and the trio were looking at him in confusion, Mrs. Higurashi and her father were frowning in concern, Higurashi was bitting her own lip and Inuyasha was positively glaring. The police man sat down, gesturing for Hojo to follow. The boy had told him all about his investigation and the kind officer had decided to approach the family about it. Hojo knew this was his once in a lifetime chance to face Inuyasha, reveal his shadowy activities and make everyone see him for who he really was. There was a lot at stake - he knew that his own actions could be considered stalking. He doubted that he'd have another chance to convince everyone Inuyasha was the bad guy here if he messed it up. The weight of responsibility and truth was great.

"Dear?" Mrs. Higurashi raised an eyebrow at the school boy. Hojo gave a small nod.

"I am sorry for taking the photos without your knowledge, Mrs. Higurashi. I was concerned about Higurashi's well being. A few months ago I had learned about her... Relationship with Inuyasha, from our friends," Hojo glanced at the trio who looked at Kagome with apology in their eyes. "They told me what she had told them - about a delinquent, two-timing bad boyfriend she was dating."

No one noticed that the police man helped himself to a rice ball. Everyone was looking at Hojo when he took out of his bag the red notebook. He saw various emotions on their faces and knew he had to present every data available to break the net of lies woven by Inuyasha.

"I decided to investigate for myself, to make sure Higurashi isn't in an abusive relationship and that this gang boy isn't taking advantage of her."

"Oh, Hojo..." started the trio, obviously anxious and giving everyone confused, apologetic and uncertain glances. Souta was just staring while Mr. Higurashi seemed to just observe the event with calmness of a saint.

Inuyasha growled, just like an angry dog. The trio glanced at him in surprise, but no member of Higurashi family - nor the officer - seemed shocked.

"I'm going to..." Inuyasha was about to stand up, apparently unable to hold his violent nature in control while everyone he was fooling was going to hear the truth about him. He flexed his hand, but at the same time officer Kyuubay raised his own hand.

"Sir... Please, let the boy say what he has to say," he pleaded, his voice very polite and calming. He gave Higurashi a pleading glance, as if hoping she could control the white-haired boy. Hojo didn't notice it, presenting his notebook to the rest. This was partially the reason he had decided to approach Higurashi family and friends - he knew that the police officer would help him if Inuyasha tried to harm him.

"I wrote the results in this notebook, here, see for yourselves," he said and pushed the notebook in Mrs. Higurashi's hands The police man had seen it already. Everyone leaned in to see the data while Kagome whispered something to Inuyasha. The boy glared daggers and sat down, crossing his arms in front of himself. "I collected the data from my observations, from Souta and you, Mrs. Higurashi, and from Yuka, Eri and Ayumi," Hojo said. He knew the group could read everything in the notebook.

Hojo felt some of the adrenaline leave his system, he felt his muscles relax a little. He felt much better when everyone's attention was focused not on his person, but on his work. He was a good thinker and more than capable of presenting his findings himself, but the glare Inuyasha was sending him was making him anxious. It was better to let the evidences speak for themselves.

Officer Kyuubay let everyone enough time to read the notebook. He was observing every emotion running through their faces, paying extra attention to the glaring white-haired suspect. 

"I am sure it's just a misunderstanding, but just to be on the safe side and to put this young man's fears to rest I decided to confront you about this," he addressed the group in general, his emerald eyes drifting from Mrs. Higurashi to Inuyasha himself. "Can I ask for your ID, sir?"

Golden eyes blinked in confusion. Hojo barely kept a grin away from his face. He knew the kind police man was too nice, being so polite to a suspect. Mrs. Higurashi reached for her purse while her daughter paled.

"I think I took it when I was putting out documents in my bag," she said cheerfully and dug out a ID card. She glanced at it to make sure it was the correct one and then handed to the officer. Everyone could see Inuyasha's photo on it - without the scarf and with the dog ears. Hojo stared at it for a long moment. What sane person was posing to an ID photo while wearing a cosplay? What civilian office had accepted Inuyasha's photo? Then he glanced at the data beside the photo.

Inoue Inuyasha. Born... Address... Everything was there - stating Inuyasha was currently living in a small town near Tokyo, was eighteen and most certainly a citizen of Japan. The police officer took out of his pocket a phone and walked a few steps away to contact his office and have the ID checked. The rest of the group decided to use the few minutes of solitude.

"Hojo, why were you spying on us like this? We'd tell you everything you wanted to know!" said Higurashi, obviously hurt and angry. "We're friends!" Hojo lowered his head, he had suspected the girl would be angry at him at first, but believed he could make her trust him again - after all he was doing this to save her from a life with a criminal.

"As much as it seemed cool to investigate like a detective from your favorite movies," started Yuka.

"It's pretty twisted to spy on your friends," Eri shook her head. "I suspected you were too prefect and had to have some weird quirks..."

"And there we were thinking Inuyasha has jealously issues." Yuka patted Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Oi!"

"Guys, he was just worried, because he didn't know Inuyasha," Ayumi lifted her hands in a calming motion, Hojo frowned and gave a small nod. The white-haired boy growled.

"Sounds to me he really wants to get his ass handed to him," he muttered.

"Young man, watch your language," scolded him Higurashi's grandfather. Inuyasha just pouted. The awkward silence lasted just a minute.

"I just want Higurashi to be happy, with someone who's good to her," said Hojo softly. "I don't want you getting in any trouble because of someone lying to you and taking advantage of your kindness."

Higurashi opened her mouth to answer, but her mother waved the red notebook between the teens to make them look at her.

"I guess we should address all the things Hojo wrote," Mrs. Higurashi said and opened the red notebook again. "We can start now, there's no need to wait. We all want Kagome to be happy and we don't want anyone to feel there's something wrong. I think some secrets must be revealed," she stated. Higurashi stared at her mother.

"Mom..." she started. "I'm not sure..." her voice was weak and she was very anxious.

"Okay, Mrs. Higurashi, but first..." Yuka reached up a hand and pulled the scarf off Inuyasha's head. Two fuzzy triangles sprang up and then laid back when the boy glared at her. "Aww, they're so cute"

"No, they aren't!" Inuyasha leapt behind Kagome when Yuka and Eri reached up to the top of his head.

"They are!" squealed the girls at the fuzzy ears plastered against his skull.

"And they're off limits, guys," Higurashi said to prevent her friends from chasing Inuyasha around the blanket. "They're mine and they're sensitive to touch."

"Kids," Mrs. Higurashi said, raising her voice just enough to make the teens sit down and listen to her. "Inuyasha's ears, eye and hair color aren't a cosplay, but his real appearance," she sent her daughter a calming smile when Higurashi yelped and shook her head. "He was born this way. He inherited his coloring from his father and his ears are a result of a rare genetic mutation."

Both Inuyasha and Higurashi stared at the middle-aged woman in shock, while the trio was looking curious. Mr. Higurashi gave a wise nod.

"This illness is called Canis aurisa," he stated.

"Inuyasha keeps his ears hidden and doesn't like to talk about them because he had been bullied in school because of them. And this is partially why he's so gruff and can be a little on the hot-headed side. He was ofter pushed to fight other kids who were making fun of him, at least until doctor Kaede started home schooling him. As you may know she is an adoptive mother of both Inuyasha and Shippou," Mrs. Higurashi winked at her daughter and her boyfriend. Hojo blinked in surprise.

"A rare illness?" he breathed out. The woman nodded.

"Yes. He met Kagome when she started to attend a psychotherapy group," she explained. "In fact all members of their gang are just kids from the same group, led my doctor Kaede."

"Poor guys," said Ayumi, looking at the staring couple. Eri and Yuka glared at Hojo, who swallowed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," he started

"We didn't want people to know," Higurashi breathed and glanced at Inuyasha. He nodded dumbly when she nudged him.

"So... What's with the old outfit?" asked Ayumi, obviously trying to change the subject and make everyone less uncomfortable. Hojo felt like an idiot - he probably had made Inuyasha see him like the bullies he had encountered. At least the psychological issues made sense now, a bullied orphan was likely to have some. Inuyasha opened his mouth to answer.

"I made the boy wear it when he works around the shrine," said Mr. Higurashi with a smile. "It makes the visitors feel like they're crossing time when they visit the shrine. Most appropriate since we have a Tree of Ages on our shrine grounds, don't you say?"

Hojo opened his own mouth to ask a question, but at the same time he saw the officer returning with a smile on his face.

.

In a parking lot near the park stood a black limo. One window was opened, revealing a woman sitting inside and tilting her head as if listening intently to something. She was grinning while stroking a mark on her cheek. 

"Are you sure this is the right way to deal with this situation?" asked a man sitting in the limo with her. His yellow eyes were fixed on a distant image of a group sitting on a blanket.

"Of course. Aiko has balls of steel and she could lie even to you without making you suspect a thing," the woman chuckled. "And you know we can't have the boy and the girls learning the truth, at least as long as they aren't involved with one of our kin. This is the law."

The man nodded. "Still, I think killing the boy would save time."

"Kagome would get suspicious and as soon as Inuyasha picked up the trail... We can't have them learning the truth either, son. You need to be more finessed, in this modern day you can't just kill people you don't like."

"Hn."

"For someone who has a sword that can't cut you're pretty violent," she teased him, but then turned her head back to observe the events in the park. The police officer was walking back to the group on the blanket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mrs. Higurashi appears to be really well-prepared, having answers for all Hojo's accusations. And from where did she get Inuyasha's ID?  
> Is it just me or is the police officer acting a little weird?   
> And look, black limo crew is lingering around!
> 
> I'm kinda excited that the fic's coming to the end. I also feel a bit anxious about it too. How was it so far?


	11. Case Closed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's only one more chapter left, guys. I am so excited! Remember, if-when I get 40 comments on FFnet under this story I'll post an epilogue featuring some mystery characters or answer your questions. And there will be some fun in the next chap, I'm so excited! ~runs in circles~

Officer Kyuubay sat down and gave the ID back to Mrs. Higurashi. He caught Hojo's inquiring gaze.

"Sorry, boy. Your suspect is innocent. We don't have him or anyone similar to him in our databases," he said. "He's clean."

"Duh!" said Inuyasha, but didn't add anything because Higurashi nudged his ribs. 

"I believe you can solve the misunderstandings on your own now?" asked the police man with a smile, looking at Mrs. Higurashi.

"Of course. They're just misunderstandings, not rooted in reality, I assure you. Thank you for your time, officer Kyuubay," she said. Hojo felt his ears burn in embarrassment.

"Well," the man stood up. "Can I ask you to share a few words?" he asked, looking straight at Higurashi and Inuyasha. The couple stiffened, then stood up and followed the police man to the big bush which had been Hojo's shield. The group couldn't hear what they were saying, but they could see what they were doing. The police man handed a notepad and a pencil to the school girl, who accepted the items and wrote something before passing them to Inuyasha, who also wrote something before returning the writing tools to the man. He bowed respectful and walked away.

While everyone was observing the couple go with the officer and then return Hojo had a while to think. So it came true he had been overreacting. He had suspected an innocent person to be a vile one. It was for sure Inuyasha wasn't a saint, but he wasn't a pure demon either. He was just a human, a victim of years of abuse, who had to attend a therapy to work his problems and adjust to life in the society. He could see that Inuyasha was acting a little more civil today than before, even if the change was very small. It was admirable he was trying to improve himself, overcome his bad traits - and it seemed Higurashi and her family were helping him to tame his bad mouth and temper his attitude. Hojo had misjudged him, hadn't been fair with him. He felt guilty - and like an idiot - but at the same time knew some of his concerns were well-rooted. Still, today he could see more than once that the Higurashi family members could keep Inuyasha in check.

And he could see the spark in Higurashi's eye every time she was looking at Inuyasha, the way her smile was lighting up her face each time his hand touched her. It was the spark, the radiance, she was lacking while talking with him, Hojo. The one he longer for so many months to see. The taste of this truth was bitter, but he wasn't a complete idiot, blind to reality. Given data he could realize his mistakes and take steps required to erase them. 

There was no way he could win Higurashi's heart back. The odd-looking boy held it in his grasp and - judging by the way he was holding Higurashi's hand while she was sitting down on the blanket and the way he seated himself behind her to support her back with his side - he had no intention to let her go. It was clear for Hojo now - finally - that they were in love.

Mrs. Higurashi resumed addressing the matters written in the notebook, telling everyone that 'the jewel shard hunting' was in fact just traveling through the country visiting doctors and healing places. Souta was silently nodding while his mother told Hojo and the rest that the boy was practically worshiping his hero and had colored the reality a little while telling Hojo about him earlier. Mr. Higurashi told everyone about Inuyasha being a marital artist and training a lot while visiting his girlfriend. Souta was going to be Inuyasha's student during the summer break - it seemed both Souta and Inuyasha were equally surprised to hear the news. The former squealed in delight while the latter scowled.

"Yay!" Yuka grabbed Inuyasha's arm and practically wrapped herself around it, much to the boy's discomfort. "We're going to see you more often then? Will you let us go on some dates with you and Kagome?"

"No!" the pair cried in one voice while Higurashi proceeded to free her boyfriend from her friend.

One by one all things in the red notebook were addressed and turned out to be mundane and not-gang-related. Hojo swallowed and with a deep sigh bowed to the other boy.

"I am sorry, Inoue, Higurashi," he said politely. He had to do things right. After all, it turned out he had been wrong and Hojo was wise enough to admit he had been wrong. He had to apologize and ask for forgiveness, because he had painted a troubled youth to be a vile man. "Please, forgive me for assuming you were a bad person, who was taking advantage of Higurashi's good heart. I had Higurashi's well-being in mind. We're... friends and I'd feel horrible if something happened to her."

The other boy wrapped an arm around Higurashi's waist and gave a small, sharp nod. 

"I swore to protect Kagome with my life and I ain't goin' to back on my word," his voice was solemn and the look in his yellow eyes was much older than it should be. Hojo felt the hair on the back of his neck stand when he looked in those eyes. The trio sighed dreamily upon hearing Inuyasha's declaration. 

"Next time you should just ask instead of worrying yourself and coming up with all those crazy theories," added Higurashi with a relieved smile, blushing when the boy behind her back pulled her a little closer.

"I am glad it turned out it was just misunderstanding," said Mrs. Higurashi and clapped her hands. "I am also really happy to know my children have so many friends who want to protect them."

.

Some time later Hojo was walking back home. His heart was so light - for the first time in weeks - Higurashi was in no danger, this was enough to make him smile at strangers he was passing while walking down a sidewalk. But the next thought wiped the smile off his face - she would never return his feelings, he knew it now. He sighed, remembering the awkward talk before he left the group in the park. Higurashi had told him how she felt about him, she had told him that there couldn't be nothing more than friendship between them. She had apologized if in any way she had made him think they could be together. She had told him - and the trio who joined them at that point - that she held their friendship in high regard, but was her own mistress, able and willing to choose for herself. She had explained that she was going to stand by Inuyasha's side and was capable of taking care of herself. And all Inuyasha had said upon hearing that statement was:

"Keh, she's one tough wench, my Kagome," with this cocky grin of his. Higurashi first had glared at him, but then had gave him a smile and just tweaked his still uncovered ear.

Hojo left the street to follow a shortcut which would lead him to another park - he'd have to follow an alley through the park to reach his neighborhood.

He walked to a trash can and pulled the red notebook out of his bag to dump it in the can. The case of the gang boy was closed. It taught Hojo that it was better to ask than to suspect, that true friends weren't supposed to spy on others. It made him realize that his crush on Higurashi, his first love, would never become the love of his life. He had to move on, even if it was painful to think about it right now. He wanted Higurashi to be happy and if Inuyasha was the one to give her happiness Hojo wouldn't stand on the way of their love. He knew that after throwing away this notebook he was going to start a new chapter of his life. This notebook was filled with his suspictions, which all turned out to be unfair, overracted or a result of misunderstanding and not knowing all the truth.

His grip on the notebook lightened...

..Just to tighten again when a realization hit him.

Mrs. Higurashi didn't explain one thing. She didn't say a word about the warning from the Noble Mother and the librarian Akita Lin.

A gust of sinister, cold wind ruffled Hojo's hair.

Behind his back a thick cloud covered the sun hanging low above the horizon.


	12. ...Or Not?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hojo thought his investigations were over...  
> Credit: Stuff you're about to read in this chapter is highly influenced by headcanons from stories The Return and The Accession by Sweet Inu Girl - totally go and check them out, they're out of this world.  
> I recommend listening to Madoka soundtrack while reading this chapter - I wrote it listening mostly to Pugna cum maga and Pugna infinita.

Hojo felt a shiver run down his spine when suddenly the sunlight around him faded. It was odd since the day was pretty warm, but for some reason the boy felt as if the previously warm breeze was now almost freezing. He looked around and couldn't spot any other person in the close vicinity. Only the limbs of the tree in the park were moving, swaying on the cool wind, their leaves rustling. Nothing around him seemed to be different than just a minute before, but the park around him felt so eerie, out of place.

If Hojo had to describe the feeling he felt he'd say it was like the feeling just before a really bad storm with many lightnings. Hesitantly he pulled the hand with the notebook back against his chest and took a deep breath. Whatever it was, whatever was going to happen here Hojo knew he shouldn't linger to witness it. Maybe it was his instinct telling him about approaching earthquake or something like this? He had read that animals could sense stuff like this and some humans had the same ability. It felt like something was pushing on him, as if the air was thicker.

He was about to shake this odd feeling off and resume walking home when suddenly he realized he was hearing something beside the rustling of the leaves. Hojo frowned when he realized he heard... Was it a child screaming mixed with a roar of an engine and some scratching noise? The school boy turned his head when he realized from which direction the noise was coming - it was approaching fast from his left, from behind a thick bunch of trees preventing him from seeing what was drawing near him and the big open space where kids usually played football.

And then it was too late to move from his spot on the edge of the field when the source of the sounds stumbled from behind the trees, running across the open space. Hojo didn't feel the notebook sliding from between his suddenly limp fingers.

In a cloud of dark purple mist was a huge, four meters tall and around seven meters wide spider-like creature. It's multiple limbs were moving in grotesque way, scratching the concrete alleys. The monster had a semi-humanoid upper body growing out from the center of the arachnid bottom. While the bulk of the spider and its legs were covered in black hair the upper body glistered with obsidian scales. They covered its four arms and bald head, which was similar in shape to the triangular head of a snake. Three orange eyes were glowing beside each other on top of that head while the bottom was occupied by widely opened maws full of pointed teeth more similar to needles than normal teeth. 

Hojo felt his limbs froze and he couldn't move, he couldn't run or even look away from the beast from nightmares. His ears registered a high-pitched scream while his eyes saw a small boy in the monster's grasp.

"Ma-ma! Ma-ma!" was screaming the child. It took a minute for Hojo's mind to register that the boy had blue scales himself and from a hole in his pants was sticking out a long tail hitting around as the child was fighting against his captor.

All thoughts left Hojo's mind and he'd probably stand there till the morning, motionless and with his mouth open, but when the mist spread around the field and reached him he coughed. This stuff smelled like something long dead and almost choked the school boy. Hojo swayed a few steps back and leaned against a tree trunk, trying to stop the nausea suddenly overwhelming him...

...Which probably saved his life - or at least health - because a few seconds later through the spot he had stood earlier in went a motorcycle. The bike, which was the source of the roaring engine he could hear from a minute now, stopped when it came around the running monster, causing it to stop in the center of the field. Hojo could see who was riding it. The machine practically did one eighty when the driver stepped on the brakes, giving him a good view.

The bike was angry red and looked expensive. A woman in an office worker's uniform was sitting behind the driver, crying in terrified voice "Luoi!", which Hojo suspected was the boy's name, because the boy's wails intensified.

But Hojo barely noticed the woman who had her make up running down the blue scales of her cheeks. He was staring, almost forgetting to breathe, at the driver.

It was a female, seemingly a little older than him. Her long black hair was braided in a loose plait thrown over her shoulder. She wore a pair of red pants and a white tunic resembling a kimono top with elbow-long sleeves, her feet hid in black combat boots. But the most capturing was her face - it was pretty, with big brown eyes. It held so much determination and raw anger Hojo unwillingly took a step back to hide behind his tree, even if she wasn't looking at him. Her undivided attention was on the monster, who was in turn glaring and hissing at her.

"Luoi!" called the distressed passenger of the bike while the driver with confidence pulled a big contraption similar to a crossbow from a holster attached to the bike.

"Inu no Miko," hissed the monster and used the boy as a shield while the woman was aiming her weapon at him.

"Put the kid down and step away from him and I won't shoot off your balls," she replied. Somewhere in the back of Hojo's mind a part of him thought the woman, who looked so familiar, sounded familiar as well.

"Kukuku, how dare you think you can harm me, miko?" asked the spider-like beast. "I'm the great-"

"Wind Scar!" came a loud shout from another direction, coughing everyone on the field off-guard. Hojo had enough time to think that this new, rough voice sounded familiar as well. The next second rays of bright light plowed the ground, coming from a shadow of a tree and reaching the monster in an instant. The spider-like beast had enough time to scream and halfway turn around. A few hairy limbs flew up from the impact of the light, the huge creature collapsing to the ground. The distressed mother cried again, but the sound was caught in the sound of the massive body hit the ground. The monster dropped his victim while reaching down to cover a gaping hole in its side through which some steaming liquid was pouring down and pooling around it.

The boy didn't reach the ground. One minute he was falling, screaming for help, the next he was gone, snatched from the air. Hojo looked around and saw the last participant of the fight.

He was standing on top of a lantern. He was dressed in red, old-fashioned kimono, contrasting with very modern-looking combat boots. A black obi belt was wrapped around the man's waist, it's ends hanging almost to his knees and displaying a red crimson moon embroider on it. The mane of white hair of the man was pulled in a high ponytail, but it still easily reached his waist. The hair style was exposing a pair of triangular dog ears trained on the monster below the man. Two purple stripes were adorning his cheekbones, making his yellow eyes stand out even more. The man held the boy in his left hand, in his right hand he had a huge, fang-shaped sword. The boy was wrapping his tiny arms around the man's neck.

"Taisho!" hissed the monster when it focused its eyes on the man. It spat something vibrant yellow liquid at him, but the man easily leapt away, the spit melted the post in a few seconds.

"Hit the mark!" exclaimed the woman who held the crossbow-like weapon. Hojo felt his hair stand up when another light - this time radiating from a small projectile, passed by him. The monster roared in pain when it hit him square in the center. In a burst of blinding light the beast was eradicated, leaving behind just a pile of smoking ashes. The mist which was previously filling the area started to disappear, seemingly pushed away by the fading light of the last attack. Hojo felt fresh air enter his lungs and it was as if it was healing the dizziness caused by the mist.

Hojo saw the man in red land near the bike and hand the boy to the woman who had left the motorcycle and ran to grab her son. Both were crying. After a long hug the woman bowed to the man who hid the sword in its sheath.

"Inu no Taisho, thank you so much!" she turned to face the female who was still sitting on the bike, its engine humming quietly. "Inu no Miko, thank you! You saved my son."

"Is he alright?" asked the bike driver and smiled in relief when the office worker confirmed, her child wrapping his arms and tail around his mother. Hojo noticed a tail sticking from under the woman's skirt wrapping protectively around her child as well.

"Keh, just go home," the man walked around the grateful woman and stood beside the one called Inu no Miko. The pair looked after the leaving woman. "Put your concealments back on!" the man reminded. The woman nodded and did something around her neck - Hojo saw her appearance change to resemble a normal human being, as did the boy's. The school boy was staring after them for a second before turning back to look at the familiar-looking couple. The man had produced from somewhere a cell phone and was holding it beside his mouth like a walkie talkie.

"Hi, Sesshomaru. We had a situation," he announced while the woman walked the bike to the nearest alley. "Some stuff wrecked, but I think we can pretend it's an earthquake or something... Yeah... Just one asshole dead... Holy shit!"

He ended the call and practically ran to the woman, who was already waiting for him. He smoothly jumped on the seat behind her.

"Move, wench. We need to clear the area, the Noble Mother's around and Sesshomaru lost her!"

The bike roared and almost stood on the rear wheel when the woman kicked the gas.

A gust of wind went through the empty, silent field. It blew away the pile of ashes. All that had transpired here took less than fie minutes and now the park looked as if nothing had never happened here. At lest as long as you didn't look at the deep gashes in the ground and melted pile of metal.

Hojo felt his legs give way and sat down on the cool concrete, his jaw dropped, his eyes staring blankly at nothing in particular. 

After a long minute Hojo reached stiffly for the discarded notebook. He pulled it to himself and stood on his unsteady legs to walk to the nearest bench to sit down.

There were many secrets - some wonderful, some horrible - in the world. There were mysteries just waiting to be revealed. There was truth hidden behind an illusion of normality. Hojo knew that now. He knew a lot of things he had not known just a few minutes ago. 

Monsters were real. Some were pretending to be humans. Some were vile while others seemed harmless. He opened his notebook and with shaking hand wrote one sentence, which was going to be the start of his new investigation.

"There is one Higurashi, a schoolgirl with kind heart, but there is another Higurashi, who is a fierce warrior of light; there is one Inuyasha, a troubled youth who wants to fit in, while there is another, who stands between the meek and the vile."

His work here wasn't done yet. He wanted to know the truth, see what was hidden from ordinary humans. He knew now that his adventure was only beginning.

.

A female walked through a park, smiling at some pretty flowers. Her ponytails were swaying behind her back when she was striding to a lone boy sitting on a bench and writing something in a red notebook.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand... Done! ~cackles~
> 
> Thank you guys, for reading and commenting! I had so much fun reading all your suspicions. opinions and just seeing that th story was fun to read in general. Thank you for encouraging me to continue. It sure was fun to write! Tell me what you think about the ending!  
> The epilogue featuring some of the mystery characters (and probably poor Hojo) will appear soon. Expect officer Kyuubay, cute librarian and the Nobe Mother herself. And some explanation why Mama Higurashi is the best.


	13. Epilogue

Kaippou entered his home - a big, traditional building, housing the main branch of his family. It belonged to his father and was located in a nice, peaceful neighborhood. The police man smiled at his notebook and opened it on the right page.

'Higurashi Kagome, Inuyasha.'

The man couldn't believe his own luck. He had to quickly shower and change after his work, then post a photo of himself with the autographs on Facebook. He couldn't wait to see all his friends write jealous comments. Getting the Inu no Miko's autograph was fairly easy if you got lucky and she was in a good mood. The Inu no Taisho's was totally another matter - the general of the Lord of the West was very firm about not signing anything with his name. Kaippou once had begged him long enough to get him to write 'Keh' and he was almost sure he had did it only because he was Shippou's son.

'Who would think,' he thought while walking down a corridor and turning off his concealment. Three fluffy orange tails with white points swayed behind the man - appearing much younger now - when he was making his way to his room. 'Who would think I'd meet them during a simple patrol, sitting in a park as if they were ordinary people. I was a little surprised to feel youki in that area and when I saw the boy stalking them...'

A sudden crash in the other side of the house brought him back from his musings. Kaippou turned on his feet and ran in the direction of the sound, which was shortly followed by shouts. Was someone attacking? He saw a shoji open and his father ran into the corridor.

"Run!" he exclaimed, his green eyes frantic. Kaippou couldn't sense real fear from his father. And there was no anger - his father should be angry if someone tried to attack him in his own home. Instead there was a spark of mischief in his eyes.

"Father! What's going on?" Kaippou called in confusion and saw a clawed hand grab one of his father's seven tails and yank him back inside. "Father!"

Kaippou ran in the room, ready to fight to save his father. But when he witnessed what and who was in the room...

...His inner child started to bounce on his tiny little fox feet.

Under one wall, adorned with a blossoming branch, sat Kaippou's mother, calmly sharing a cup of tea with a woman in red and white. Kaippou's father was currently pinned to the floor by a knee placed against his back. Above him was towering an inu hanyou. He had his right hand pressed to the floor by a huge boulder. He looked magnificent, fierce and feral - the Inu no Taisho so many people admired like Kaippou. The three-tailed kitsune smiled - the visits of these two were not rare, but he usually was in work. 

"Hello, Kaippou," Kagome waved her hand at him when he tore his eyes from Inuyasha demanding to be freed of the boulder immediately. "How was your day?"

Kaippou's mother seemed not worried about the well-being of her mate or her house, despite the threats growled by the hanyou. Kaippou's father was snickering despite having the inu hanyou cracking his knuckles above him. It was always like this, for as long as Kaippou could remember - the pair would come to visit and his father would prank the most deadly hanyou in the country just for heck of it. The three-tailed kitsune bowed politely and sighed.

"It was a pleasant day, aunt Kagome," he said. "I met your younger selves."

With a wicked kitsune grin he showed Inuyasha his own autograph and fleed the room, followed by angry shouts of the inu. After all, Kaippou was Shippou's son. Teasing Inuyasha was his second nature.

. 

Hojo woke up on a car couch. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a luxurious car, a limo maybe. A woman was sitting on the other couch, facing his own. He quickly sat up and focused his eyes on her. She definitely was a sight to behold.

She had silver hair bound in two ponytails, but her face wasn't that old-looking. She had two strips on both cheeks and a crescent moon tattooed on her forehead. A pair of piercing golden eyes was observing him, sparkling with mischief. She was dressed in a purple kimono with floral pattern and held his notebook on her knees.

"Human boy," said the woman with a soft voice. The boy realized the car was moving, but he couldn't see anything outside because of the dark windows. "My name is Akita Rumiko, but you can call me Noble Mother."

Hojo suddenly felt cold and numb. The woman in front of him was the author of the note in his notebook. And now she had him in her car, taking him to wherever she wanted. 

"Um... 

"Human boy," she tilted her head. Hojo blinked when he noticed her eyes were pointed. "You didn't listen to my advice."

"I... Mrs. Akita, I merely wanted to know the truth. I didn't mean to..."

"Oh, yes, you did," the woman smiled. "You witnessed far more than a human should and now I have to decide what to do with you."

Hojo felt swat run down his forehead. The woman was speaking in a friendly tone and was smiling, but the glint in her eyes and the fact she was taking him somewhere were making him more than anxious. His mind drifted to yakuza and he briefly wondered if she was going to kill him and throw the body in the ocean.

"Am I... Are you going to kill me?" he asked, his lower lip trembling. He balled his fists, desperately trying to think about a way out of this situation.

"That's what my son advises to do," she shook her head, her ponytails swaying behind her back. "But I think you're too cute to just be killed."

"Oh," he relaxed in relief. So he was going to be alive. But... "Will you keep me captive for the rest of my life?"

"Why should I?" she giggled and lifted his notebook. "You're a seeker of truth. I will answer your questions. So ask, you have time until we reach the tea house where we'll meet up with a dear friend of mine. After having a tea with her you'll be free."

That was... Unexpected. Hojo needed a while to realize what this woman was giving him. He was going to be fine. And he was going to learn the truth from a person who seemed to have all the answers! This was like an ending of many criminal stories - the part where all questions were answered and clues pieced together. He swallowed and took a deep breath, relaxing in his seat and collecting his thoughts.

"Okay, Mrs. Akita," he smiled shyly at the strange woman. "Why there are two Higurashis and two Inuyashas?"

"This's easy. Because there are a pair of the past and a pair of the future. The two you saw fighting today are the future selves of the pair you met earlier in the park," she replied without a second of hesitation.

"Of the past and future? I am afraid I don't understand," he confessed.

"The Higurashi you know fell in a magical well which took her five centuries back in time. There she met Inuyasha and the rest of us. She was splitting her time between the past and the school here until one day she chose to stay in the past. Since she mated Inuyasha her life span was extended to match his. They lived the five centuries until now. So now you have the older pair living here and the younger coming out of the well so Higurashi can take her tests. Soon she will stop coming back because the well will seal."

Hojo needed a while to think about this. It sounded like something form a SF movie. It was too crazy to be real, and yet he didn't call the woman a liar. He wanted to hear everything she wanted to share with him before telling her his thoughts.

"You said... They lived for five centuries? How is this possible?"

"Easy. Inuyasha is a hanyou, a half-youkai. A dog to be precise." she grinned. "He's roughly seven centuries old."

"He's a... Youkai? But they're just folk stuff!" he exclaimed in disbelief.

"I can assure you youkai are real. And he's a half. I, on the other hand, am a full blooded youkai," she laid a hand against her chest. "And the monster they fought in the park was a youkai as well."

Hojo closed his mouth before saying anything. He thought about the monster, the fight like from a movie. He thought about certain pair of dog ears twitching in agitation.

"Most youkai are usually harmless for humankind," the woman said. "We're just trying to blend in and live our lives. But some are evil or simply stupid, so they attack humans or reveal themselves. Luckily we always manage to keep our society a secret. You humans wouldn't stand it if there was another race living beside you, you would just try to destroy us."

"We wouldn't!"

"Come on, human boy. You can't tolerate humans with different skin color, how could you tolerate people who, for example, can change to animal form?" the woman appeared amused and a little sad at the same time.

They talked for almost a half an hour while the car was moving. Hojo was asking questions about the youkai, about Higurashi, everything. The female in front of him was providing him with answers, often prompting him to ask more questions. It seemed his eagerness to know was amusing her and his reactions was often making her laugh. Finally the car stopped and a male opened the door before offering his hand to help Mrs. Akita out. Hojo quickly followed and found himself standing in front of a huge building. It looked old, but well-kept, with lanterns shining around. The boy looked at the male who had helped the woman leave the limo and gasped.

The man wasn't a human, he had a humanoid body, but a fox's head and... tail. Hojo blinked when he realized that the man had in fact two tails moving lazily from side to side. His fur was pale orange, as was his hair. 

"Honorable Guest, your friend is waiting for you," the fox youkai said and glanced at Hojo. "Are you sure, my lady?"

"Of course. Don't worry." she waved a hand at him and wrapped her other hand around Hojo's. "Come, human boy. Let's meet my friend and have some tea."

Hojo realized he was staring at the fox man and bowed in apology before the woman dragged him in the direction of the tea house. His head was spinning with the amount of information he acquired since waking up. It was hard to believe, but there were evidences - the fox human being one of them. Hojo felt overwhelmed and confused. He knew he would have to think about all this for a while. There was a hidden society and only a few humans knew about it. One of them being the nice librarian, Mrs. Akita's granddaughter. Youkai existed - heck, magic existed! Suddenly the logical, reasonable world was full of shape shifters, spells, artifacts and immortal beings superior to humans in so many ways. 

The school boy barely noticed the main room of the tea house with its low tables and mats, with guests sipping tea and talking. Mrs. Akita led the boy to a secluded table behind a privacy screen adorned with cranes. A woman was sitting there and was currently pouring tea to two cups. 

"I came here when I saw Kagome and Inuyasha crossed the time portal," she smiled up at Hojo. "Hello, Rumiko, Hojo."

"Aiko!" Mrs. Akita let go of Hojo to jump and wrap her arms around the human woman's neck. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Oh, we met the last time you were in Tokyo," Mrs. Higurashi didn't try to free herself from her friend's embrace. Instead she mentioned to Hojo to sit down and take a cup of tea. "How are you, dear? You look a little pale?"

"Um..."

"I told him everything," Mrs. Akita announced and sat down. She picked up her tea and took a sip while the other woman took out of her purse a very familiar looking ID card. 

"Here, better return it to Inuyasha before he realizes it's gone," she winked at Hojo. "I am sorry I lied to you and the others, but I am oath bound to keep the youkai secret."

"You knew? From the start?" Hojo gasped.

"Come on, I am a shrine keeper and a miko. Of course I know about youkai," Mrs. Higurashi giggled. "And I had the pleasure to meet my daughter's older self and her mate when Kagome fell in the well for the fist time. This is why I never was against her traveling to dangerous time and skip school."

"Oh..." Hojo gave a small nod of understanding. It made sense for the woman to know the outcome of the adventures her daughter had in the past.

"Okay, Aiko, work your magic, I need to take him back home before my son finds out I ditched him and comes after me to drag me back to the Keep," Mrs. Akita waved a hand. Hojo blinked while Mrs. Higurashi took out of her pocket a small pale orb on a chain. The boy looked at the sphere in surprise because it seemed to glow faintly in the woman's hand. Higurashi's mom let the gem hang freely and with a gentle move of her wrist made it sway sideways. Hojo had enough time to realize the pink light around it brightened before everything went blank.

.

Hojo woke up on his bed. He sat up and looked at the alarm clock showing it was five minutes after six am - the alarm was going to go off in ten minutes. The boy rubbed at his eyes and noticed his red notebook laying beside him. He probably had fell asleep while browsing and updating it last night. He reached for it and opened it with a proud smile. The notebook contained his precious research data. His gaze slid over straight lines of words and pictures - he was cataloging Tokyo birds and the previous day he had spent almost all afternoon taking photos in the park. It had exhausted him so he had fallen asleep in his clothes on top of his bed covers. 

When the alarm rang Hojo switched it off, put his notebook away. He ran to the bathroom to take a quick shower and prepare for school. As he undressed and stepped in the shower he reached for a pale pink orb hanging around his neck. It was his lucky charm and he hoped it'd make his wish come true. 

"Oh, I wish for a girl as kind, smart and pretty as Higurashi to fall madly in love with me," he prayed and let go of his charm to reach for a soap. He never noticed the light glow swirling inside the charm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here you have it, the fic's done! ~happy dance~ Hope the epilogue was to your liking, guys!   
> At first I was not going to include the first bit with Kaippou because it made the epilogue so long, but I thought you'd not mind and would like to meet him again. And, yes, Shippou's still pranking Inuyasha, after all the time. Hope I answered all your questions!

**Author's Note:**

> ~still cackles because Hojo labeled Inuyasha 'a pure demon'~


End file.
